Crystal Shade: Angeni - Istvan Szabo, Ifj. & Orlanda Szabo

Crystal Shade: Angeni, Volume 1 by Istvan Szabo, Ifj. & Orlanda Szabo
Release Date: November 11, 2011

Goodreads | Amazon

Series website Check out the website, it is pretty awesome!

My Rating: 3/5 stars

From Goodreads: "Seven year old Grace always dreamt of becoming a guardian angel; like  those who guarded and guided her people and prepared to bravely fight in a dreaded mythical event, the Crystal Shade – which never came. It's not like Grace ever wanted to see Demons. Or wants to know what evil and  darkness is – things that no one ever faced on her world and as the legends says, the Crystal Shade carries within –, nor does she want to die to be reborn as a guardian. But she thinks the mysterious life of angels is so noble, a fable that it sounds exciting – until it actually happens.

Crystal Shade: Angeni, Volume 1 explores the early life of a young daydreaming soul who is destined to reveal the forgotten past of her home world and to seek the answer for the eternal question; what the legendary Crystal Shade really is."

Firstly, thank you to Istvan Szabo for supplying me with an e-copy of the book for review. This does not, in any way, alter my review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.

I was excited to read this one, the name drew my interest as did the concept. The concept is not like anything I have read before which is very refreshing these days!

The cover is gorgeous! I really like it, I think it is unique and really drew my eye.  

Crystal Shade is beautifully written with an almost historical feel to the book. The writing style is, in my opinion, more complex than other YA writers I have read. Which is both a good thing, and a bad thing. I found this a fairly slow read, it took a while for the action to really get going. I understand this is the start of  series, so there was world building to be carried out to set up for the future books!

The main character, Grace, is a young girl who would like nothing more than to become a Guardian, she loves her family and would do anything for them. Pretty early on in Graces journey she suddenly becomes a Guardian, just what she has always wanted. However, becoming a Guardian meant leaving her family forever. She has a new name, a new family and a new life.

The story is narrated by an elderly man telling a story to two children who are curious about the Crystal Shade. I'm not sure what the man and the children's roles are in the story, hopefully more will be revealed in the books to come!

Happy reading!
- Amy

Review: No Rules of Engagement by Thomas Wilson

No Rules of Engagement by Thomas Wilson
Release Date: August 30th 2011
Publisher: Smashwords
Edition: Ebook, 304 pages
Goodreads | Amazon

My Rating 3/5 stars

From Goodreads: "For eight year old orphan, Alexander Hawk, the question, "Is there other Intelligent life in the Universe?" has been answered with a resounding YES! 

Plucked from a correctional facility for boys because of a test he never even finished, Alexander is sent to train for combat against an alien race of Alligators which is attacking another group of aliens, the Macktonics, who have allied with United States in return for advanced technology. 

The United States' gathers an army of children so they will arrive at the perfect age for fighting. Alexander faces grueling training exercises as he struggles to rise to the challenge of preparing to save the placid Macktonic alien civilization from pending attack. Before his training is complete he comes face to face with the enemy. Alexander becomes student and teacher as they square off against a superior aggressor. Traveling through time portals crossing time and space to gain intelligence, and ultimately to hunt down their foe before they attack the Macktonics."

Let me start by saying thank you to Thomas Wilson for supplying me with an ecopy of his book. This in no way impacts my review. All opinions are my own.

No Rules of Engagement isn't like any book I have read before. This is the first book I have read that revolved around aliens. I wasn't too sure that this book would be for me as I am more of a paranormal fan. For the most part I was right, this book is a little bit far out of my favourite genre's but it was still an enjoyable read. 

Alexander Hawk is an 8 year old orphan who has been recruited for a special government program. He will be sent into space for a 6 year trip to fight an army of aliens (the Alligators) of unknown size and unknown strength. In the 6 years leading up to their arrival they will train and train and train. They are allied with another alien species, the Macktonics, who are far more advanced technologically than humans. They have discovered the secret to time travel. This is how they know that the Gators will eventually attack the Macktonics and take over their worlds. To avoid this the Macktonics allied with the United States, as they needed an army filled with people who know violence. In return the United States have been promised that they will remain the worlds superior power for the next century. 

My first thought when reading this book was, "Alexander is 8!? Why so young?!!" Later I found out that it was because they would be travelling for 6 years and would be at their fighting prime by the time of their arrival. Still that only leave his at 14 years old. Though he is the youngest on the ship, everyone else started out 10, on arrival 16. So at 8/10 years old these kids were taken from orphanages around the US to train to fight this alien army. Though it does make sense that by the time they reach their destination the kids will be 16 (or 14 in Alexander's case), I still thought that this was way to young for kids to be actively training for combat situations. I just couldn't seem to get passed the fact that he started out being 8.

The man in charge of the operation is General Deke Harrbinger. Who was arrogant, rude and hot headed. Which I suppose he would have to be to see it as a-okay to train 10 year old kids in combat! At the start of this book there is a chapter when he picks Alexander up from the orphanage and is really rough with him, which made me seriously not like him as a character. Though throughout the book he did calm down a lot and he did grow on me as he grew as a character. Eventually he realised that Alexander was smart. Smart enough to see flaws where he hadn't.

Age aside I did like Alexander as a character (I kind of chose to ignore that he was starting out 8 years old though). Again though, he did grow on me throughout the story. At the start he was incredibly violent (even slamming General Harrbinger's hand in the car door - ouch!) He was the youngest of the kids but he was also the best. The kids would train in a very advanced and high tech simulator that simulated situations of war. This I liked. The kids were able to play out different situations and tactics without actually dying, though the simulation did cause them to feel if they came into forms of impact. 

Alexander liked to show his superiority by intimidating the people who were condescending or thought they were better than him. He did this through violence, which I found similar to Deke. I don't remember what age he was but at one point he breaks someones finger to prove that he is superior. I know this fits with his character but it was still very unsettling. 

Thomas has taken modern day America and mixed it with an alien life force, creating a world that is very intriguing. During the first couple of chapters the pace seemed a little bit off, but as the story started taking shape this improved. There is room for improvement here and there, but Wilson has created a very appealing story. So if this sounds up your ally, check it out!


Happy reading!
- Amy

Review: Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan


Release Date: August 27th 2007
Publisher: Random House
Edition: US paperback, 230 pages
Goodreads | Book Depository


My Rating: 3/5 Stars


From Goodreads: "NAOMI AND ELY ARE BEST FRIENDS. Naomi loves and is in love with Ely, and Ely loves Naomi, but prefers to be in love with boys. So they create their "No Kiss List" of people neither of them is allowed to kiss. And this works fine - until Bruce. Bruce is Naomi's boyfriend, so there's no reason to put him on the List. But Ely kissed Bruce even though he is boring. The result: a rift of universal proportions and the potential end of "Naomi and Ely: the institution." Can these best friends come back together again?"


Yes yes I know, this is the first book that I have given less than four stars to since starting my blog. I just didn't love this book, I wanted to, but I didn't. I have read Dash and Lily's Book of Dares and I loved it so I thought I would give this one a shot. Unfortunately it didn't live up to Dash and Lily for me.


To start I got confused and thought Ely was a girl thinking you say it like El-ee, not E-lie which I guess is how it is actually pronounced? Like Eli but a different spelling? I'm not sure. Anyway I thought it was two girls, which was why Ely didn't want Naomi, because Naomi was into girls and Ely was into guys. I guess I wasn't totally wrong on that front. Turns out Ely is a guy who is into guys. And Naomi is also likes guys, more specifically Ely. Which makes things kind of difficult since Ely is gay and all. 


So the story is about Naomi and Ely who have been best friends and living in the same building forever. They are the kind of best friends that share everything, even clothes. Naomi knows that Ely is a guys kind of guy but she thinks it is just a phase and that in the end they will end up together and get married. I guess it doesn't help that they are always joking about where they will be getting married. Ely obviously not realising that Naomi is hoping it will actually happen. 


There is a lot of drama for such a short book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just found that Naomi was really petty and blew everything out of proportion when things didn't go her way. She would have boyfriends but mainly just so she could use them until Ely was ready. But that plan sort of fizzles out when Ely falls in love, I don't want to spoil it for you, but this part of the story I really liked! I really don't want to spoil it though, just keep in mind I like how Ely comes across his new boyfriend!


I found that there were too many points of view in this novel. Each chapter had an alternating point of view. Naomi and Ely had more designated chapters as they are the two main characters. But there were about 7 other peoples points of view throughout the story, two different Bruce's and two different Robin's  so I did get more than a bit confused on occasion. Naomi's point of view used symbols in place of some words, which is a clever idea, but it slowed down my reading of her chapters as it would take longer for me to figure out what she is trying to say!


So with all of that said, I did like this book, I liked the ending and most of the storyline. Though there were elements of the book that didn't float my boat, that doesn't mean that will be the same for everyone! I still enjoyed this book, just not as much as some another books that I have read. 

Happy reading!
-Amy